Pre-Op Trip Day 2: Trip to Olmos

After a successful day of screenings on Day 1, we were ready for another round of patients in Olmos. Olmos, the lemon capital of Peru, is a small village about 2 hours away from Lambayeque, where we are based at the moment.

Dr. Albert and Dr. List screened an additional five patients in Olmos and then another five back in Lambayeque. Most of the patients had cleft and lip palate deformities, while several more had other problems. One of the patients, a two-year-old boy from Olmos, had severely burned his hand when he was one. The fingers of his left hand were fused together in such a way that he was unable to open his fingers to their full extension – the doctors will bring this case back to the surgeons in the US, in addition to the other cases, for surgery consideration.

After the Olmos screenings, we spent some time exploring the area, which included an on-the-spot tour of a local church given to us by the grounds caretaker and then meandering through the local food market.